How The Clippers Can Join the NBA's Big 4

(If anyone has ESPN insider can they post the full article-I provided a hyperlink to it)
By Jovan Buha
In today's Per Diem article, ESPN's Tom Haberstroh deduces that there are four clear-cut contenders for the Larry O'Brien trophy - the Heat, Pacers, Spurs and Thunder - and then a handful of "pretenders" a step or two away from true contention (the Clippers, Warriors, Blazers, Rockets, Grizzlies and Nets).
Here is his breakdown of the Clippers' contention odds, and what they need to do to be the last team standing in June:
Los Angeles Clippers | Path to contention: Get healthy.
One of the most....

Call it the Big Four.
In the latest survey of predictions in the fresh-out-of-the-oven Winter Forecast, which is being rolled out this week, a clear trend has risen to the surface. After we asked more than 50 panelists to pick their most likely NBA champions, a tier of four teams overwhelmingly popped up more than the rest (in alphabetical order):
The Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
In our eyes, this power quartet have separated themselves from the rest of the pack even though the standings say otherwise. The Portland Trail Blazers are tied with the Thunder in....

The fact that we need to "get healthy" to be considered contenders really pisses me off. We are obviously contenders, who are not healthy, end of story. What is so wrong with believing in this team? It's like if you are in the world of sports "journalism" it is not ok to support the clips. I guess what happens to those who dare to support, they are either convinced by force to change their mind, or they are never heard from again lol. Whatever, we could win a championship, and Miami would still be the team to beat the following season. give me a break

ClippersDA

01/24/2014 - 10:41 AM PST

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Contenders don't lose to the bobcats. They might give everyone a scare but they pull out a win. I'm not sold just yet. This team hasn't yet taken that next step IMHO but I think we won't know until post season.

Kerley

01/24/2014 - 11:50 AM PST

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I'm not a regular on this board (but I've been lurking lately since my normal board is down). And I hate this "contenders don't lose to bad teams" argument. Yes they do. This is the NBA, on any given night a player or team can have a down night. And it's just as common for a team to have a night of crazy shooting (the Clippers have been victims of this very thing far too often).

The heat have lost to 76ers, Pistons, Celtics, Kings and Wizards.

The Thunder have tallied losses to the Jazz, Raptors and Nuggets.

Pacers have lost to the Raptors, Suns and Pistons.

The Blazers if you think they're for real, Pelicans, 76ers, and Kings.

The Spurs are really the only team in the NBA that is yet to lose to a lesser team other than a loss to the Knicks. All of their losses are compiled of top teams, which is also something to worry about. They've been beaten twice by the Rockets, Thunder and Blazers. They've also lost to the Pacers and our Clippers.

So I don't buy the notion that we can't be a contender if we lost to a lesser team. This team has been notorious for playing down to competition and turning it on against better teams often times too late. The Clippers are a good team, and I'd say with this roster and Doc Rivers, just getting into the playoffs will give us a pretty good chance at advancing.

cleepers

01/24/2014 - 11:57 AM PST

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Well said, Blakers and Kerley!

Charlotte was a horrible loss, no doubt. But I think this team will be a lot better if we just add... oh, I don't know... say... THE THIRD BEST PLAYER IN THE F*CKING WORLD!

ekker3

01/24/2014 - 12:14 PM PST

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as long as you're in the top four in the west come playoff time, regular season power rankings mean squat.

austin009009

01/24/2014 - 12:29 PM PST

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I'm still not completely sold that we are a for sure contender, but we have yet to see our teams full potential

austin009009

01/24/2014 - 12:29 PM PST

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come playoff time, i think we will see a much bigger difference having doc than vinny

austin009009

01/24/2014 - 12:30 PM PST

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and as long as we don't play memphis again, I'm ready for a different team that doesn't play the exact opposite way

austin009009

01/24/2014 - 12:31 PM PST

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Also, Throughout a 82 game season, teams will lose games just because of fatigue and off nights.

austin009009

01/24/2014 - 12:32 PM PST

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it happens to every team in the NBA,

austin009009

01/24/2014 - 12:32 PM PST

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no matter how good they are

A7XDreamTheaterClipps

01/24/2014 - 01:39 PM PST

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I like how the Clips are out of the radar. They were under a huge microscope last year.

pageC4

01/24/2014 - 05:15 PM PST

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thanks for posting up the article Ron

GhostShip

01/24/2014 - 05:48 PM PST

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We need one more piece to put us over the top. A back up big is a must. If DJ gets in foul trouble we have nobody to replace him. Come trade deadline some guys will come available and we need to take advantage, like when we traded brian cook for nick young.